Together
In conversation with Founder Himanshu Chowdhry and Head of artist management Ridhi Diwan - Spectal Management
FOR TOMORROW
An initiative by Spectal management agency to help and support the heroes who work behind the scenes in the music industry
QCongratulations on your amazing initiative " Together For Tomorrow ". How did the idea come about ?
AWe are very close to the cause having worked in the performance industry for the last 5 years . We witnessed from very close quarters the huge impact this pandemic has had on our sector . Quite a significant number of freelance professionals like roadies , technical crew members , etc ., lost their only source of income just within our network . In addition , most of them did not have any supplementary jobs or enough funds to cater to their basic needs .
The freelancers and daily wagers form the backbone of our industry but are unnoticed by many . Moreover , the events industry in India has received little to no help so far , unlike in the west . So , we decided to activate ‘ Together For Tomorrow ’ to raise funds and awareness for these unsung heroes .
Tell us about the funds you raised
Q and how they were used .
AWe have raised a total of Rs 10 lakh till date in the campaign . An emergency grant of Rs 10,000 was disbursed to 100 performance industry workers across the country .
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Challenges you had faced in getting
Q the word across to people .
AWe did not have a corporate donor backing the campaign when we started and hence , we took it upon ourselves to ensure we reach our target via crowdfunding . We made multiple cold calls to various stakeholders of this Industry to request support , and discuss the possibility of associating with them to reach a wider audience . We also sent out mails to influencers , artists , media houses , prominent personalities , agencies , etc ., for the same purpose .
We designed a thorough social media campaign and churned out relevant content regularly urging people to donate . We also specifically focused on creating audio visual content as it attracts and holds attention better .
QHow did you identify / on what basis did you identify the ones who needed support ?
AThe first step in identifying the target group of beneficiaries was data collection . We circulated information about the campaign online and invited people to share their details . We collected preliminary data of 600 + possible beneficiaries from across the country via phone calls and nomination forms .
We then asked these beneficiaries a predetermined set of questions to identify and prioritise applicants who have no income at all and no other source of livelihood in the dependent family . We also filtered out the salaried professionals since the goal was to focus all the efforts towards freelancers and daily wagers from the performance industry .
The panelists , veterans of the touring and live industry , also helped us to vet the applicants . They made phone calls to beneficiaries in a randomised fashion to verify their information .
While we realise and are mindful of each of applicant ’ s distress and need for help in these challenging times , it was important for the campaign to ensure that the financial help reaches the most vulnerable first .
Do you have any further plans in
Q this regard ? Tell us more !
ATFT has been one of the highest points of Spectal ’ s professional journey and we are raring to go again with another long-term social initiative that we are about to launch .
We want to inculcate the habit of doing good on a daily basis , and working in collaboration with universities across India , we want to focus on organising food drives to finding sponsors for girl child education , donating books / clothes , helping orphans , and feeding homeless dogs .